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Use WiFi when available without turning it on

Hi guys,
I am new to amdroid platform. I've been using symbian before this. I want to know as to how do I auto use wifi when. Available without manually turning it on. Below is a use case scenario.
I have configured wifi as well as gprs. I have turned off background sync so as to conserve battery and the wifi is off. Now when my active sync want to connect to server to synchronize emails, it should auto check if I have a nearby wifi already configured. If yes, then turn on the wifi, sync the data and close the connection thereby disconnecting from wlan. If a known wlan network is not available, use the data plan of my service provider to get the job done.
Now I know for sure that when I've wifi turned off, the phone is not always connected to 3G. It uses it only if requested by an application. But when I turn ON wifi, it always remains connected to the known network. I want to avoid this for saving battery.
Please let me know if there is an app for that. I am using HTC DESIRE Z running Froyo (non rooted). I dont mind rooting the phone for this thing but only if a standard way is not available.
Thanks in advance,
Karan
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

I think Juice Defender does exactly what you're looking for.
Or Tasker if you really want to customize and make it location-based.
Good luck, and welcome to Android! I also came from Symbian.

Technically the phone can't know if there is wifi available unless wifi is on..
However, a tool like Tasker can use various contexts in order to determine if Wifi is to be turned on. For example you could use cell tower ID's to determine if you're at a certain (fairly wide area) location, like "at work". Or you could use GPS to get more fine tuned information, however it doesn't necessarily work indoors.
Or Tasker could also turn on Wifi if ActiveSync is running, assuming it's a distinct program it can detect.
I see in the time I opened the thread and responded someone else suggested Tasker as well. It's several bucks but it's well worth it, it does a LOT.

You should try an app called "Y5".

JuiceDefender does this for me. It must use gps positioning to determine if you are in an area that you have as a familiar wireless network. When I am home my wifi turns on and connects automatically. When I leave it shuts it off. JuiceDefender is great for many reasons beyond this.

foppa78 said:
JuiceDefender does this for me. It must use gps positioning to determine if you are in an area that you have as a familiar wireless network.
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Click to collapse
GPS uses tons more battery power than just leaving WiFi on would. It might be using cell tower triangulation for a rough area, but I doubt it. The most efficient way to detect if familiar wireless is near, is to turn the WiFi on for a minute or so and do a scan.
kmmerwana said:
Now I know for sure that when I've wifi turned off, the phone is not always connected to 3G. It uses it only if requested by an application. But when I turn ON wifi, it always remains connected to the known network. I want to avoid this for saving battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WiFi doesn't use power to maintain the connection until it's needed, or something wakes it and it realizes its no longer connected. 3G uses power to track cell tower connectivity and stay connected, but it is very little. WiFi only uses more power when you're in an unfamiliar location, since it actively scans for new wireless networks.

data conection/wifi question

if i have bouth data and wifi turned on and i am connected to a wifi spot...do i need to turn off the data conection first before it will stop sucking my topup?
shouldnt the device make sure it uses wifi if wireless network is available?

No, you don't need to.
When you connect to a wi-fi connection, the 3G data will automatically switch off (logo on status bar will go away) and it will return when you switch wi-fi off.

funstuffalex said:
if i have bouth data and wifi turned on and i am connected to a wifi spot...do i need to turn off the data conection first before it will stop sucking my topup?
shouldnt the device make sure it uses wifi if wireless network is available?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what?
The phone will prioritize the WiFi connection over the 3G connection unless the WiFi is turned off, it's signal drops out(resulting in a disconnects), or you have the default still set for WiFi to turn off when the screen is off.

Am I right in thinking that although the 3g connection will kick in when the wifi signal is lost the phone will still continue looking for a wifi signal and therefore impact on the battery?

xspyda said:
Am I right in thinking that although the 3g connection will kick in when the wifi signal is lost the phone will still continue looking for a wifi signal and therefore impact on the battery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once the WiFi signal it's connected to is lost, it will switch the data 3G connection back on. Once you're out of range of remembered WiFi networks, it does scan for new/known WiFi signals to automatically connect to(only in the case of known signals, it will not try to connect to unknown networks).
As far as impact on battery, I don't think it's much. Only one time has WiFi ever creeped up on my battery use meter and that was on a particularly light day. I still finished my work day at little over 70% battery. There's an app on the market called WiFi Toggle which can help you automatically manage the phones WiFi chip. For instance, one setting will let it turn the WiFi on for a second, scan for known networks and connect if it finds them. If it doesn't, it turns it back off.

That's as I thought, thanks for the confirmation. I'd really like something to make the android phones act like the nokias in this respect - only turn on a data connection when needed (ie when the browser is fired up) and also prioritise the connections such that if a pre programmed known wifi network is available it will connect to that but if not switch to 3g data. There is no scanning for wifi networks all the time.
Nice to know it doesn't seem to impact on the battery though and yes before anyone mentions it I am aware android devices are designed to be always connected

xspyda said:
That's as I thought, thanks for the confirmation. I'd really like something to make the android phones act like the nokias in this respect - only turn on a data connection when needed (ie when the browser is fired up) and also prioritise the connections such that if a pre programmed known wifi network is available it will connect to that but if not switch to 3g data. There is no scanning for wifi networks all the time.
Nice to know it doesn't seem to impact on the battery though and yes before anyone mentions it I am aware android devices are designed to be always connected
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been saying this for a while too. I came from Nokia symbian phones where they initiated the data session only when needed, like opening the browser etc. Android does not do this, instead it keeps a data session on all the time. Anytime you see that 3g symbol on an android phone means its data session is open. This is why android gets such poor battery life across all models and manufacturers.
Take one day as a test and simulate your symbian use by turning off mobile data, and your battery life will sky rocket on your nexus. So really It's just a trade off to make knowing you're always connected vs on others like symbian you need to manually do something to open the connection.
Oh and WiFi gets so much better battery life over 3g on android.

Make Nexus stop switching WLAN automatically (same SSID, different BSSID)

Hi guys,
at work there is a WLAN build with several hotspots at different locations.
When my phone just lays on my desk it constntly loses the connection.
This is because i'm sitting almost in the middle between two hotspots.
The WLANs have the same SSID but every hotspot has a different BSSID
So i guess the nexus thinks "oh nice, same SSID but 5% stronger so lets switch to that network".
The issue here is, i have to login again after every network switch.
So i would like to know how to tell my nexus it shall not switch networks automatically.
Thanks a lot for your advice.

This might be an issue on the corporate side—they might need to tell their controllers to be less aggressive when telling wireless clients to switch APs.

Unfotunately this is not an Option. Huge company with it-security department etc. Nothing get's changed without special permission. So i've to solve this issue on client side
tapatalked from hammerhead

[APP][WiFi][India&Brazil]Free WiFi is My WiFi

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Search "My WiFi" on Google Play and get the orange logo app
I am new here so I shall upgrade my account to devBD later ​
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Once the connection is successful, you are able to view and monitor the quality of your WiFi. If your personal WiFi is turned on, there will be many users that are out to connect to your hotspot, which means you need to do a password change for your current router to improve the security of your WiFi and keep the connection consistent and fast without having to compromise the speed.

Users in India & Brazil are Supported, other countries are on the go.
Download
http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smartech.mywifi

Use Wi-Fi+

Use Wi-Fi+​
The Honor 9 comes with many features to help your phone save time and resources. One of my favorite is Wi-Fi+. This enhanced WiFi system provides three key features that will make you have a better internet experience.
Switch Between WiFi and Mobile Data
Evaluate Wi-Fi connectivity and switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data for the best network connection. This may increase data usage.
Turn on/off WiFi Automatically
Turn on Wi-Fi when in range of a known Wi-Fi network and connect to it.
Evaluate available Wi-Fi networks
Automatically evaluate network connectivity and suspend auto-connect for saved networks that cannot connect to the internet.
When I'm going for a long drive and maybe listening to music, I'll turn my Wi-Fi off to save battery. When I get home, I don't have to worry about forgetting to reconnect to save my data. My Wi-Fi will automatically turn back on and get me connected. This is my favorite feature of Wi-Fi+
Definitely turn this feature on while you are using your Honor 9.